Wang storms ahead

Hong Kong's Wang Chen set up a final showdown against Kaori Mori of Japan in the women's singles at the Asian Championships in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and a repeat of last year's final by beating Jiang Yanjiao of China in straight games yesterday.

It was sweet revenge for Wang, who lost to the mainland shuttler in a controversial semi-final match when they last met at the National Games in Nanjing last year.

'She [Wang] played with great confidence today and had the right tactics by making the opponent tired, moving her around to four corners,' said coach Chan Chi-choi. 'But it was a very good game and both players played at their best. Wang is more experienced, especially in the big points after the score has exceeded 15 and that's why she came out the winner.'

Wang, the defending champion, defeated Jiang 21-18, 21-18, while Mori also overcame Chen Li of China 2-0 in the other semi-final.

Chan said Wang should get the better of the Japanese shuttler in the final as his charge had only lost to Mori once in eight encounters, but it would still be difficult to predict a result as the tournament is being held under the new rally points scoring system.

'[Wang] looks better due largely to a better head-to-head record, but those matches were played under the old scoring system,' said the coach. 'This is Wang's third tournament under the new system and she has adapted very well.'